Connecting Flights in Dusseldorf
 

I'm pretty airport savvy as I've flown in/out of many European airport, but not Dusseldorf. My brother & his wife have never been to Europe, and they will be meeting us in Munich. They will be flying from Miami on Airberlin, connecting with Airberlin in Dusseldorf for Munich. Their transfer time is 1 hour 20 minutes. I have a few questions I was hoping someone could help me out:

1. Do international flights arrive Terminal C, and domestic flights out of Terminal B?

2. Do you have to go thru Passport Control when you arrive Dusseldorf, then go back thru Security to catch your connecting flight?

3. Is 1 hour 20 min enough time to do all this and will the luggage make the transfer?

4. What problems might they encounter?

Thanks for your help.

This is copied from the airberlin website.
And 1h20m is more than enough, assuming no flight delays.

Transferring from a long-haul to a short-haul flight:
When you have gone through passport control, just follow the signs for "Departures B". You will not be leaving the customs area. Nevertheless, you will need to observe the regulations for carrying liquids in your cabin baggage, as another security check will be required on entry into an EU country. Passengers already in possession of their boarding pass for the connecting flight can go straight to their departure gate. Passengers without a boarding pass for their connecting flight should contact the airberlin transfer counter in Arrivals C, after passport control, or in Departures B, after the security check E1.

http://www.airberlin.com/site/airpor...ng&checkNavi=1

Thanks for your response. I know what the website says -- just curious what the reality is. I had a horrible experience at Frankfurt. It was a zoo changing terminals, transitting the tunnel, thru the mob at security, running to the gate only to find out I just made the last shuttle to be bussed out onto the tarmac with a short connection. :eek:

I know Dusseldorf isn't the size of Frankfurt, but I would like to get a feeling from someone who's been there, done that, got the t-shirt. :D

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. Definitely

4. None

Agreed. And the two "terminals" (better: piers) are no more than 150 meters from each other.

Thank you all.

This seemed like an appropriate thread to ask my question too...

I just booked a ticket on Lufthansa using Continental miles. I'm booked in business class to return from Berlin to Houston in July via:
TXL > DUS > EWR > IAH.

My layover in Dusseldorf will only be 55 minutes. Will this be doable? What kind of security should I expect since I'm only going from short- to long-haul?

55 minutes should be no problem if your inbound is on time. The flight to the States leaves from one of the neighboring gates. You will go through emigration in DUS though (less then 5 minutes) and likely no additional security check. (the one in TXL is sufficient)

No worries. Today a bunch of people made it from a delayed TXL - DUS flight to their Miami flight in less than 10 minutes. The distance from your arrival gate to your departure gate is between 100 and 30 meters and emigration in Düsseldorf takes 5 to 10 minutes.

Just a little feedback about DUS transfer coming in from an International flight. Once we got off the plane (Terminal C), it was a hike to Immigration. No escalators, lots of stairs, and didn't notice or look for elevators. Got thru Immigration, then back thru security. Don't have any liquids with you. Short walk from there to Terminal B.

It was a 2-hour connection, and no problems. We were 1/2 hour early.

My brother on the other hand with a 1 hr 20 min connection had some problems, but made his connection. His flight was 1/2 hour late. He was seated in the back of the plane and by the time he got off and to the Immigration area, it was a zoo. Then thru security and to his gate. They must have held the flight for him as it departed 15 minutes late, and he was the last person to board. Thought he was going to miss his flight. I think what saved him is that he stopped by the Airberlin transfer center, and they must have called ahead to hold up the plane. They even asked about his luggage, which also made the flight. Close call, but it worked out.

Hello,

I will be arriving at DUS on LH, transferring to TK for a flight to Istanbul. I have never been through any DUS terminal other than A (Lufthansa), but it appears that TK operates from the C terminal.

I have 2 hours connecting time and I am traveling in business class on both flights, so should be first off the plane. Based on this thread, this seems like plenty of time, but if anyone has any experience connecting from A to C let me know if I am overlooking any issues.

No problem at all. This is plenty of time

Thank you for your help.

And I will post feedback about my experience later in case others may find this information of use.

My experience at DUS went very smoothly.

My flight was about 30 minutes late arriving so layover was cut down to 90 mins. LH was not able to issue a boarding pass for the TK flight at origin, so I needed to get a BP during my connection.

Making the connection from terminal A to terminal C involved clearing entry immigration upon arrival, exiting A and finding the TK desk to issue BP, clearing security to enter C and clearing exit immigration for my flight out of Schengen area. Was able to do all of this with probably 30 minutes to spare.

Entry immigration was very quick, exit immigration was a bit of a mess.

Not quite as easy as the all-LH connections I've had at DUS in the past, which can be done in about 5 minutes, but still very easy due to the compact size of the airport. Much preferable than making a similar non-Schengen connection at FRA where there is seemingly no rhyme or reason to anything.

Hello,

I'm trying to decide if a 45 minute connection at DUS enroute from ZRH to JFK is possible or not. Our first flight lands at 16:15 and the second one departs at 17:00. This will be in June. We're US citizens, so it sounds like we'd have to go from Schengen arrivals (since Switzerland is Schengen) to non-Schengen departures. It also sounds like we'd have to clear customs to leave the arrivals area, then go through security again to get to the departures area. Can anyone confirm, or correct me if I'm wrong?

The information in this thread has all been very helpful. It sounds as if there is a consensus that if we politely but firmly get ourselves to the front of the queues, we will probably make it. Does anyone have experience with Air Berlin's missed connections policy, in case we don't make it? :)

Thanks!

Hi.

It could work. In June the summer holidays in most states have not been started. 45 minutes is really tight. There is not much buffer for a delay on your ZRH-flight.
If I had to name airport where this is possible it would be MUC and DUS.

I have mostly positive experience if you miss the flight due to a feeder-delay. The rebooked me without problems. I have to say these rebookings were german domestic flights from TXL to DUS. If they have to rebook a TATL-Flight I don't know how they behave.

If you have the chance to get a flight earlier I would consider it.

S.

No customs, no security. Your will arrive either on a tarmac position or on A84 or so and depart from the A89 or so gates. Doable in 5 to 10 minutes.

Connecting flight vis dusseldorf
 

Hi,

I have a connecting flight from JFK to Nice via Dusseldorf. The layover is 1 hour and im flying air berlin. I am VERY nervous as the next flight to nice is the next day and i cannot afford to miss this flight. What do you suggest?

thanks

What do I suggest. Relax. This should be no problem. One hour is more than sufficient in DUS.

From New York via Air Berlin connecting to Pristine (Kosovo) via German Wings
 

Hello,

I will be travelling to Kosovo via Dusseldorf in May 2012 and I have a 1:30 connection with checked bags. It appears that Air Berlin (from New York) uses primarily Terminal B while German Wings (to Pristine) seems to use Terminal C. I'm wondering, since both countries are outside of Schengen, will they perhaps be flying through the same terminal? Is this connection advisable?

Thanks!
Seth

Even with a change of the terminal, this connection should be possible as long as your flight has no huge delay.

I looked up todays flights and 4U to Pristina uses Terminal C.

http://www.flughafen-dusseldorf.de/d.../?flugid=33939
4U 5700 Pristina 12:45 C 30

That means you have to clear immigration and security. But this is possible within 90 minutes. I wouldn't worry about that.

S.

From New York via Air Berlin connecting to Pristine (Kosovo) via German Wings
 

Great, thanks for the help!

Yyz-dus-lhr
 

Im on Lufthansa this Saturday from yyz to lhr connecting in dus. I have a 55 minute layover. Canadian passport. Is this enough time for myself and checked luggage to make the connection?

Thanks for any help.

I bet, you will make it in less then 20 minutes...

I have kind of the opposite question of many on this thread... I actually have an overnight layover...arriving at 1615 and departing 910 the next day.

I've spent five or so days in Dusseldorf center and parks a couple years back, so I wondered if there was another city/town/village/neighborhood that would be reasonable and interesting for a few hours (even if it's just a good beer garden) with a decent place to stay (I like family 3-star/pensions) near the S-bahn.

As an aside: I'm traveling biz class on AB...if my departure is at 910, when should I arrive?

Thanks much,
Adam

ATL-DUS on Delta Continuing to SOF on Eurowings 2:45 H layover
 

Hi:

The posts so far have been super informative. I am flying with my wife an 2 small kids (2 and 4) in mid-May 2012 from Atlanta to Dusseldorf arriving at 7:45 am (Terminal C) and then connecting on a Lufthansa Regional flight (operated by Eurowings) to Sofia, Bulgaria at 10:30. So, we have 2 hrs and 45 mins but will need to claim our checked bags, go through customs and then check in at the LH desk at Terminal A.
Delta claims they do not have a baggage agreement with Eurowings and refuses to check our bags all the way through to Sofia.
Could anyone describe what we might encounter? Please give some sequential details of the steps, since my wife is convinced we will miss our connection. I understand that there are 5 or 6 other large international arrivals from various countries at that time and also read that immigration was a "zoo" at 6 am. So, just trying to gauge our realistic chances of success considering we have the kids and need to wait for our bags and then get them checked again at the LH desk no later than 10:00 since they close the checkin process 30 minutes prior to departure.
This is a little lengthy, but seems to have a few extra wrinkles compared to previous posts.

Separate question: Is there any value in using their VIP service?

Thanks in advance!

Delta has a baggage agreement with LH and should be able to check your baggage through to Sofia. The Eurowings/LH regional flights are being operated like normal LH-flights. Just check-in online for your LH flight and present your boarding-pass for the LH flight to the Delta-agent when checking in at ATL (assuming it is on two tickets). And just to be safe, also present your baggagetag to the agent at the boarding-gate in DUS. If it is all on one ticket, there should be no problem at all.

Rotanes:
This is how I initially thought it would be, but in 2 separate conversations with Delta agents I was told they will not be able to check our bags through to Sofia because the flight is operated by Eurowings and their LH baggage agreement is not applicable. One of those Delta agents even said she checked with a supervisor who confirmed. So, we are forced to deal with claiming our bags and checking them again at the LH desk. This is not going to be a smooth/normal transfer. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I still believe it will be possible, when you actually checkin.

But even in worst case, 2h45m will be more than enough to recheck your baggage in DUS. In this case - if you are NOT a US citizen - you might need a visa to enter the Schengen-area for the re-checkin.

Thanks everyone for the replies. As all of you expected, we had no issues at all. Dusseldorf is a very easy airport to navigate. It helped that our first flight arrived on time. The bags were all there before we were able to make it to the carrousel. Passport control and Customs were a breeze. We had more than an hr to spare even with the considerable line to check in on the connecting LH flight and to go through security. While I was having a coffee and a snack, my wife and kids went a level down to check out the giant giraffe statues right in front of Terminal A.
Thanks again!

meeting a friend in Dusseldorf
 

Hi everyone! I have a question for you all and I hope you can help. I'm going to London from Italy, in a few days, and through Dusseldorf where I'll have to wait for abouth 2 and a half hour. Since I have a friend in Dusseldorf I was wondering if there is somewhere where we can meet? And if I would have to go through the all security check after that?
Thank you in advance.

I assume you friend has not ticket on the same flight / airline alliance. Thus, you have to clear security to meet your friend landside.

There are a few restaurants and bar in the airport (amongt those a Starbucks) or walk over to the Sheraton or Maritime Hotel for a more quite surrounding.

The 2 hour layover in Düsseldorf is from my point of view to short for a trip into downtown Düsseldorf.

No, she does not have a ticket. Thank you very much for the answer.

Don't worry about leaving security. It will take less then five minutes (unless you have to pass very early in the morning) to get through security.

Heinemann is leaving DUS as their contract ends this year. They have a clearance sale in their DUS duty free stres if you plan to buy anything... http://www.heinemann-dutyfree.com/du...&et_lid=534519

Hello everyone.
I flew through DUS few years ago and I am in need of advice for my son's flight.
He will connect in DUS coming from Abu Dhabi (Etihad) with final destination Miami (Air Berlin). He's got a European passport.
Connecting time: 2.30 hours
Do you know the terminals and how the procedure will be?
Have you any idea of the entertainment system on air berlin planes?
Thank you very much in advance for your help!!

EY will usually arrive in concourse C, and I believe (though not sure) that all AB longhauls will also depart from concourse C. So, there should be no need to clear passport control (although this shouldn't be a problem if he's holding an european passport - although two and a half hours seem quite long to hang around in concourse C).

once again.tnx for this great forum.

i will be travelling, again, to BKK.

flight details : CPH - DUS - AUH -BKK.

connecting time between CPH - DUS and DUS - AUH is 1 h 20 min

can i make it?
assuming inbound flight is on time, no problems.i assume...
i checked DUS website and it seems that AirBerlin flight from Copenhagen arrives at concourse B, while the flight to Abu Dhabi operated in alliance with Etihad, departs from concourse C.

do i need to pass through pass control when arriving from EU country, but with a non -Schengen passport?

thanks.

1h 20m in DUS is plenty of time. DUS is fairly small layout and the walk won't be far. Even with a small delay, you should be OK.

You will not have to go through passport control when you land from CPH as there are no border checks between Schengen countries, but you will when you depart from the C concourse.

Hi.Thanks for reply

I am thinking now about the current strikes which hit german airports, in this case DUS.

Does this affect long haul flights or just european routes?

Anyone who has a better insight?